Today I weighed myself at the hospital, on the same scale I weighed myself on February 7, the day after my diet started. I was very pleased to see that I had lost 16 pounds in 64 days. Since I'm such an "average" freak (you'll have to decide on the meaning of that), let's see how that works out mathematically. Dieting 64 days and losing 16 pounds means that I lost one pound every four days on the average.
Frankly, that seems like way too much. If the body of a 63-year-old woman my height requires 1943 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight, and my average consumption is 1554 calories per day, then I'm eating only 389 calories per day less. That's not really very much. Reckoning that a pound of body fat equates to about 3500 calories, it should take me about nine days to lose a pound. I'd be satisfied with that. I'm not exercising enough to cause many extra calories to burn. I'm wondering if the large weight loss is just because my obesity required many more calories in maintenance; in fact, one website said I would need over 3,000 calories a day to stay large. By that reckoning, I'm eating WAY less than I would need to stay big. Is that how "nature rules"? I'm sure that at some point, my calorie intake will more closely match maintenance calories.
I will continue to keep my average about the same as it is now, and I'll have to count calories well into the future so I don't bounce back again. I'll also continue to eat a well-balanced diet. Now that spring has finally sprung and my garden is calling me, I'll be getting more physical activity as well. My goal every growing season is to make my garden more spectacular than it was the year before, and that means working harder and longer than the year before!
Good for you! I checked my weight this morning on my scale and it shows I'm down, which relieves me that I will show a loss on my Thursday weigh in. I'm always scared that it won't, so it's such a relief to see the numbers and know it's really true. It's good to know I have many companions on this journey.
ReplyDeleteQueen Jester, thanks, and congratulations on your weight loss. It sure feels good, doesn't it? My weigh-ins come only occasionally, so if I don't lose any weight for a week or so, I'm not too disappointed. I'm not part of a group, but a long-time loner.
ReplyDeleteAlthough my clothes are getting looser, I'm still not wearing my older one-size-smaller stuff. I don't think I'll need to buy smaller bras for a while; the old over-the-shoulder boulder-holders will do until there's more shrinkage.